Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s11: 1. The Deshmukh and the Deshpande
Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s11
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1. The Deshmukh and the Deshpande
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Before the time of Shivaji the Deshmukhs and the Deshpandes, were in charge of the Parganas. They were also called Zamindars. Their control over the villages led to oppression of the rayat, and Shivaji decided to do away with their agency. At the same time, the great Maratha ruler did not forget that if the Zamindars were turned out of their office without any provision whatever, an economic revolution would follow creating a number of beggars who had once seen opulence; and the remedy would be worse than the disease. He, therefore, took away their authority, but left them in the enjoyment of their customary dues, and appointed government officers in their place. The Peshwas simply continued this practice of Shivaji, and the change was not produced "by the policy and avarice of the Bramins" as Elphinstone seems to suggest, but it was realy "attended with beneficial effects," as he himself further adds—"as delivering the people from the oppression and exactions of the Zemindars.¹ In fact during the Peshwa period the Deshmukh and the Deshpande became the sincere friends of the rayat, and never failed to bring to the notice of the Peshwa their grievances. We find the Zamindars accompanying the Khots and Patils of Prant Rajpuri to Poona to inform their master how insecure the rayats felt and how the lands were left uncultivated owing to the disturbance of the Shamal (siddi) (1760-61).
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¹ Elphinstone, Report, p. 21.
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"The rayats of Prant Rajpuri have been much oppressed by the disturbance of the Shamal, and their lands have not been cultivated. Disturbance takes place every day. The Zamindars, the Khots, and the Patils came to Poona and prayed that the Swami should therefore take pity on them and make collection according to a new inspection of the aforesaid Prant in the present year."²
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² P. D., Vol. III, p. 220.
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Again in 1763-64, the Deshmukh and the Deshpande represented to the authorities that the villages of Prant Junnar had been burnt and plundered by the Mughals, and suggested that some concessions to the cultivators should be made.³
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³ P. D., Vol. VII, p. 19.
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But although the Deshpandes and the Deshmukhs were relieved of their original duties, their watan was not altogether a sinecure. "Long after the Zamindars ceased to be the principal Agents," says Elphinstone, "they were still made use of as a check on the Mamlutdar; and no accounts were passed, unless corroborated by corresponding accouuts from them." In fact the hereditary officers were preserved as a check on their non-hereditary superiors in almost every department of the Peshwa's government. In addition to this, the Deshmukh served as a depositary of old records and the past and the present history of all watans, grants, and inams. So, whenever there was any dispute about land, the Deshmukh was asked to produce his old records and he had also "to keep a register of all new grants of transfer of property either by the Government or by individuals." It seems that the Deshmukh had an official seal for stamping these deeds, and it was usual for the senior owner of the watan to be the custodian of this seal, while the junior owners simply enjoyed the inam lands. Two documents are quoted here in support of this statement.
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"Trimbak Rao, son of Gamaji Mhaske, Deshmukh Pargana Sangamner, came to the Huzur at the Mukkam at fort Purandhar and informed that half the Deshmukhi of the aforesaid Pargana belonged to his family and the other half to the family of Shelke. That in his family he was the senior and that the accepted custom was that the senior man in the family should have the entire right of using the official seal, putting his signature and doing the other duties of half the share of the aforesaid Pargana; while his co-sharers should enjoy their customary share of the inam, and that the senior should grant them such pecuniary assistance as he deemed fit for their needs. That he had been exercising his right of seniority in the above style * * * Coming to the above conclusion we give you this letter of authority. Continue in the enjoyment of your right of seniority, generation after generation, use the seal of the family of Mhaske as before, do the Deshmukhi work of 150 villages and exercise your right of seniority by putting your signature, giving your co-sharers their due share of the inam, and granting them pecuniary help as is customary and as their needs demand" (1776-77).¹
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¹ P. D., Vol. VI, pp. 322-323.
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"Dadaji Dev Rao Deshmukh, Tarf Haveli, Tarf Ale, Tarf Votur and Tarf Minher, Prant Junnar, came to the Huzur and represented that of the above-mentioned four Tarfs half the Deshmukhi belonged to Tuljaji Sakhoji Hande Deshmukh and the other half to him. That the old custom prevailing in the Mughal regime required the senior member of the family to reside at court, and accordingly on the death of his father Dev Rao, he, as the senior owner of their half, remained with the Mughals at Killa Shivner and asked his uncle Ananda Rao, the younger brother of Dev Rao, to carry on the work of the Deshmukh. Ananda Rao conducted the work for twenty years and upon his death his son Shivaji continued it for ten years more. But he did not submit any account to Dadaji nor did he give the latter the produce of the watan. Dadaji therefore urged that, as the senior owner, he should have the management of the watan to which Ananda Rao had no legal claim, and Shivaji Ananda Rao should be warned that he should have the rights of a simple junior sharer only. Upon that Shivaji Ananda Rao was brought to the Huzur and on enquiry it was found that he had no claim to the management. All past account should be submitted and explained to you (Dadaji), you should manage the above-mentioned half Deshmukhi. You are accordingly ordered to do the customary work of the management of half the Deshmukhi, put your signature and use the seal and enjoy the rights and perquisites of the watan (*Hakdak, Manpan, Inamat, Isafat*).⁵
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⁵ P. D., Vol. VI, pp. 323-324.